System and method of automated real estate management

ABSTRACT

Computerized methods of safely providing unattended, self-guided, real estate tours for improved real estate property transactions, evaluation, and remodeling. The system enables prospects (visitors, persons interested in real estate property) to perform unattended real-world tours of various real-world properties safely. In a second embodiment, a computerized method to better analyze how such prospects react to these properties during these tours. Here, visitor smartphone data and/or various sensors on the property automatically monitor and record visitor interactions with multiple property sections. In a third embodiment, a computerized augmented reality method enables such visitors to understand how to customize a property. Here, virtual object, product, and service data may, upon user demand, be downloaded from remote servers and displayed on user devices. This enables prospects and other users to visualize how the virtual objects can integrate with the property and facilitate the acquisition of the actual objects, products or services.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication 63/014,955, filed Apr. 23, 2020, and US provisional patentapplication 63,003,790, filed Apr. 1, 2020; this application is acontinuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/601,288,filed Oct. 14, 2019; application Ser. No. 16/601,288 was a continuationin part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/844,238, filed Mar. 15,2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,445,843, issued Oct. 15, 2019; applicationSer. No. 13/844,238 claimed the benefit of U.S. provisional application61/794,372, filed Mar. 15, 2013; application Ser. No. 13/844,238 alsoclaimed the benefit of U.S. provisional application 61/621,077, filedApr. 6, 2012; application Ser. No. 13/844,238 was also a continuation inpart of application Ser. No. 13/103,485, filed May 9, 2011, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,062,127, issued Aug. 28, 2018; application Ser. No.13/103,485 claimed the benefit of U.S. provisional application61/473,139, filed Apr. 7, 2011; application Ser. No. 16/601,288 alsoclaimed the benefit of U.S. provisional application 62/897,921, filedSep. 9, 2019; application Ser. No. 16/601,288 was a continuation in partof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/563,901, filed Sep. 8, 2019;application Ser. No. 16/563,901 was a continuation in part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/844,291, filed Mar. 15, 2013, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,978,109 issued May 22, 2018; application Ser. No. 16/563,901was also a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/985,574, filed May 21, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,410,303, issuedSep. 10, 2019; the entire contents of all of these applications areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention is in the field of computerized systems and methodsuseful for managing real estate.

Description of the Related Art

Management of real estate property has evolved little over the past fewhundred years. The process of renting, leasing or selling real estateproperty is very labor-intensive. It traditionally has demanded muchone-to-one in-person contact between persons interested in purchasing,leasing, or renting the property (often called “prospects”) and thepersons who are owners or agents of the owners, such as real estatebrokers and the like. Typically, for any given property, before anytransaction occurs, the owners, brokers, or other agents, must conductin-person tours with many, sometimes hundreds, of different prospects.This involves much travel, much wasted time and energy (e.g., automobilegas), and pollution. In-person real estate tours are also an excellentopportunity to spread infectious diseases between individuals.

Furthermore, in-person real estate tours are extremely time inefficient.The prospective tenant or buyer must set up a specific meeting time withan agent or landlord. During that time, the agent or landlord can onlybe showing that one property to that one prospective tenant or buyer.Add to that commuting to and from the appointment. In this modern age oftelecommuting and working from home, with everyone having high speedbroadband connections even on their phone or tablets, that is completelyunnecessary, in fact it is a waste of our most precious resource—time!The old way is completely unscalable and ties the owner, agent, brokeror property manager to that one appointment at that one time.

The process of optimizing matches between potential prospects andvarious real estate property is also cumbersome. This is an area that isoften done by intuition rather than by actual hard data as to actualuser preferences. As a result, specific improvements can be hit-or-miss,with much wasted time and money if present user choices don't matchexpectations.

In addition to renting leasing and selling real estate property,equipping or remodeling a property is also very inefficient andtime-consuming. The process of selecting various furniture, fixtures,appliances, remodeling, or landscaping tasks often requires much timefor analysis and often multiple visits by the persons ultimatelyselected to perform these activities.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is inspired, in part, by the insight that moderncomputerized technology and broadband internet can be used to providemore efficient automated alternatives to the traditional, time andlabor-intensive, real estate management process.

The invention may be viewed as having various embodiments. These basicembodiments may be combined in any combination and may also be used on astand-alone basis as desired.

In a some embodiments, the invention can be a computerized method ofallowing prospective tenants or buyers to tour a property with no oneelse present. In other words, an automated method of safely providing“self-guided tours.” These prospective tenants or buyers are often userswho are real-estate “prospects” that may otherwise be unknown to theproperty owner or agent. The invention allows these users to tour aproperty while no one else is present under carefully automatedmonitoring situations. This basic embodiment relies on user-assignedvalidated personal mobile computerized devices, such as smartphones, toallow users to sign up with a remote server, such as at least one remoteinternet server, adequately identify themselves, and schedule an “ondemand tour.” The properties in question are also connected with theremote server (e.g., an internet server) and may employ electroniclock-equipped doors and suitable property located cameras and sensors tomonitor the user during the tour.

In some embodiments, this system can also accumulate statistics on useractivities during the tour and/or present the user with various usefuldocuments depending on the user locations during the tour. Variousadditional features, including different automated document managementfunctions, will also be discussed.

In these embodiments, the invention can also be viewed as an improvedcomputerized method of keeping track of user activities while touring areal estate property (see FIGS. 19A, B, and C). The invention usesvarious location-based sensors and optional connections to user-carriedwireless computerized devices such as smartphones. The invention tracksuser proximity to various locations of interest. In some embodiments,the invention also tracks user orientation (e.g., if the user is facingtowards, facing away, looking at, looking away) from these locations ofinterest.

The invention can also keep track of additional information, such as theoverall duration of the user's property tour. Further information, suchas user duration in a particular part of the property, can also beobtained. For example, in a residential property, the invention can keeptrack of the time a user spends in a particular room, such as thekitchen. In a commercial property, the system may alternatively keeptrack of the time that a user spends in a specific part of an office orwarehouse. This tour “intelligence” can be captured over eitherindividual tours or over multiple tours. This way, aggregatedinformation from either numerous prospects or by the same prospectre-touring a given property multiple times, can be obtained.

The system will often transmit this data to a remote server, such as atleast one internet server, where it can be retransmitted, stored, andanalyzed as desired. This method is advantageous when it is used toaggregate statistical data over multiple users, multiple properties, andmultiple locations of interest because this way, deviations fromstatistical averages can be flagged as being of potential interest. Forexample, assume that one location of interest is a kitchen. If thesystem detects that the users at a given property spend appreciably moreor less time than average staying in the kitchen or looking at thekitchen appliances, this can help provide some objective evidence thatthis kitchen is regarded either favorably or unfavorably.

In another embodiment, the invention can provide an improvedcomputerized augmented reality system oriented towards real estateproperty applications. In these embodiments, a remote server, such as aremote internet server, often operated by a source (“source”) ofproducts or services, can be configured with a plurality of differentvirtual objects, each with virtual object appearance information andother virtual object associated information. These objects can bevirtual objects that pertain to real-world appliances, furniture,remodeling, construction, and landscaping objects, for example.

In these embodiments, a server may be configured with a suitablestandardized API (application programming interface) so that a pluralityof different sources may upload virtual objects that correspond to thatsource's real-world products or services to the server. In use, a usermay use their smartphone or other computerized device cameras to imageportions of the property and request download of various virtual objectsand virtual object information from the remote server. This user may bea prospect or other user who is simply touring a property or mayalternatively be any other type of person, such a renter, lessor,property owner, or agent.

The advantage of this type of embodiment is that it can help usersbetter visualize changes to the property. Other embodiments of thissystem can also provide various automated document handling systems aswell. These automated document handing systems can facilitate theacquisition of those real-world objects that correspond to the augmentedreality objects chosen by the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an overview of one embodiment of the invention. Here users,such as real estate prospects, who are interested in evaluating a realestate property by themselves (e.g., without anyone else present) canuse their smartphones or other computerized devices to contact (usuallyover the internet) a suitably configured internet server. The users canuse various registration methods to establish their identities andschedule a tour. Those users cleared by the system can automaticallyreceive an “unlocking code” or equivalent signal from the server. Thissignal can be used to unlock electronic lock-equipped doors that may beprotecting the property.

FIG. 2 shows a pictorial overview of one embodiment of the invention.Here, users can first verify their identity upon initial account setup,use various methods to search for desirable properties. The systemallows these uses to automatically schedule visits to specificproperties, even if those properties are unoccupied at the scheduledvisit time.

FIG. 3A shows an overview of how some of the significant hardwareportions of the invention may interact.

FIG. 3B shows a detail of a personal mobile computerized device such asa smartphone.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart showing how users of the system may initiallylog onto the system server and establish accounts to use the system. Italso shows how a property owner or broker may add this invention to aproperty as a property enhancement. This is because a property (inparticular rental units) configured with a self-touring capability canbe more valuable than a property without this feature.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart showing additional details of how users of thesystem may validate their presence and identity on the system.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of how, in some embodiments, the user mayprovide their credit card information to assist in the user validationprocess and/or pay for the use of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows another overview of how one embodiment of the invention mayoperate. This embodiment provides information to users while they aretouring the property. In this embodiment, property information can firstbe positionally tagged (geo-tagged) either within property buildings oron the property grounds. This information can then be presented to theuser's mobile device when they are within a preset proximity to asuitable geo-tag location. Furthermore, the invention then furthertracks that a given specific user is within proximity to this locationand can also keep track of when the user requests (e.g., downloads) thatinformation.

FIG. 8 shows a more detailed flowchart showing how the user may usetheir handheld computerized device (e.g., smartphones), or websiteaccess, according to the invention. The user may contact the server,receive tour permission, schedule one or more tours, and receiveinformation, such as electronic digital keys, on their device thatenables the user to unlock electronic lock equipped property doors toaccess the property.

FIG. 9A shows a more detailed software flow chart showing how the serversoftware may act during a tour. In some embodiments, the user can beverified via video link through a camera at the entry point. Otherembodiments may use automated facial image recognition methods. Stillother embodiments may omit any requirement for visual identification.

FIG. 9B shows that in some embodiments, the system may automaticallytransmit surveys/questionnaires to the various user computerized devicesand record the results in the server's memory (or elsewhere).

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of how the server can automatically query thevarious sensors and other optional equipment at a given real estateproperty. In this embodiment, the system stores various user activities(as determined by the system sensors) in memory for later analysis.

FIG. 11 shows a software flow chart. This provides details of how theserver can pre-populate and transmit various electronic documents to theuser's mobile computerized device (e.g., smartphone) to streamlinevarious transactions. For example, the user may use this process tosubmit a bid for the property. The owner or broker may then accept orcounter such a bid.

FIG. 12 shows a software flowchart providing more details of how theserver can pre-populate and transmit various electronic documents to theuser's smartphone to streamline certain transactions.

FIG. 13 shows a software flowchart showing how the system can optionallyalso handle audio or video chat requests between the user (prospect) andthe property owner or agent of the property owner.

FIG. 14 shows a high-level overview of how, in some embodiments, thesystem can progress from a tour request up through an exchange ofelectronic documents. These can include bidding and other types ofcontractual documents.

FIG. 15 shows that in some embodiments, the server may aggregate sensordata from multiple properties and may assemble this data into adashboard of historical or real-time data. This allows multiple usertours over multiple user properties to be viewed simultaneously.Additionally, in some embodiments, this dashboard can also show whattours are currently active or pending. In some embodiments, thisdashboard can also show if a property has CCTV (e.g., video cameras orclosed-circuit television) and which CCTV cameras are currentlydisplaying video.

FIG. 16A shows that in some embodiments, the server-generated dashboardcan enable video chats between the dashboard user and the user touringthe property (prospect). The dashboard user can continue to monitorother tours on other properties during a given chat.

FIG. 16B shows that if multiple calls from multiple users touringdifferent properties (multiple prospects) come in at once, then thewaiting calls may be automatically queued in sequence by the server.

FIG. 17 shows how in some embodiments, the invention may monitor thepositions and orientation (the direction the person is facing) ofvarious persons on a real-estate property. This orientation can brelative to different pre-designated locations of interest on theproperty. For example, is the person facing a kitchen, or facing a givenwindow, etc. In some embodiments, this data can then be used to analyzethe behavior of these individuals. This data can be accumulated over aplurality of individuals and tours. This allows the system to producestatistics on how users react to designated portions of a givenproperty.

FIG. 18 shows how in some embodiments, the server may also store variousvirtual objects from multiple sources, such as different suppliers ofproducts and services. Users can use their smartphones to call up theseproducts and services and display them, in the context of the property,using augmented reality methods.

FIGS. 19A, B, and C show the route that a user (here one user touring byhimself as a single prospect user) has taken through various properties.FIG. 19A illustrates the route that this user took on the first floor ofa residential property, FIG. 19B shows the route that this user took onthe second floor of a residential property. FIG. 19C depicts the routethat this user took on a commercial property floor (here an officebuilding).

FIG. 20A shows a heat map showing areas most traveled by multiplevisitors (such as 20+ prospect users) to the first floor of theresidential real estate property.

FIG. 20B shows a heat map showing areas most traveled by multiplevisitors to the second floor of the residential real estate property.

FIG. 20C shows a heat map showing areas most traveled by multiplevisitors to the commercial real estate property floor (again, an officebuilding).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure will occasionally use real estate terminology. Here abrief definition of some standard real estate terms is provided.

Prospects for residential real property can be an Apartment Tenant orHome Buyer. For commercial real estate, the prospect can be anycommercial space user (buyer or lessee), such as, but not limited to:office, warehouse, and retail.

Owner—fee simple owner. The owner can also be a seller or lessor. Theowner can have owner representatives (often employees of the owner) thatgenerally do not need to be licensed by the state because they areworking directly for the owner.

Brokers are typically licensed by the state, and often act as agents foreither the owner or the prospect, on a non-employee basis. Brokers mayhave their own authorized agents, also known as licensed salespersons,who in effect also act as subagents for the owner or prospect.

This disclosure also introduces the concept of a “tour operator”—as thissounds, a tour operator may, remotely from a distance, conduct prospectsthrough real-world property tours of one or more property sites. A touroperator can be an owner or a broker or another direct or indirect agentor employee of the owner.

In this disclosure, since potentially all of the above may use theinvention, we will generally use the term “user” to cover all of theabove, with further subdivisions of “users” as discussed in the text.The default user should be considered to be at least the “prospect.”

In this disclosure, smartphones are often used as a specific example ofa mobile computerized device. Smartphones are typically user-assigned(e.g., typically a user is the “owner” of a specific and registeredsmartphone). Smartphones and can also be validated (that is, uniqueidentification codes or biometric sensors (168) on the smartphone can beused to ensure that communications are coming from the “true” smartphoneand user, and not a “spoof” or counterfeit smartphone.) Examples ofsmartphones are the Apple iOS series, such as the Apple 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9, 10, 11, 12 series, as well as later models. Other examples includethe popular Android series, made by Samsung and other manufacturers.Although smartphones are a specific example of such mobile computerizeddevices, other mobile computerized devices with different form factors,such as the watch (e.g., Apple iWatch), tablet, laptop form factor mayalso be used. Thus, the term “smartphone” although often used forbrevity, should be construed to include these other types of mobilecomputerized devices as well.

In some embodiments, the user's smartphone(s) may be equipped with a“tour app.” This tour app will typically be a downloadable appconfigured to run under a suitable smartphone operating system such asiOS or Android. However, in some embodiments, the “tour app” may beconfigured as part of the smartphone's operating system, and suchoperating system embedded versions of the “tour app” are not disclaimed.

Users may use this tour app to facilitate some of the various methodsdescribed in this disclosure. For example, users may initiallypre-register with the invention's internet server. The users may alsoverify their identity using the smartphone's biometric sensors (e.g.,fingerprint sensors, face sensors 168) at any time (either during orafter registration).

After user registration and identify verification, the tour app may usethe smartphone's GPS (global positioning system) receiver, to inform theserver that a user with a confirmed biometric signature has arrived at aproperties GPS location at a given time. If this time is an authorizedtour time, and if the user is approved, the system's internet serveradmits the user (e.g., unlocking one or more electronic locks). The tourapp may also be used by the system for user tracking during the touritself.

In addition to cellular transceivers, modern smartphones are alsoequipped with other types of short-range radio transceivers, such asWIFI and Bluetooth transceivers. In some embodiments, the location ofany property-located short range (e.g., less than 300-foot distance)wireless transmitter or transceiver, such as WIFI or Bluetoothtransceivers, may be reported to the invention's internet server inadvance. In such embodiments, the tour app can be further configured tomonitor signals from these property-located WIFI or Bluetoothtransceivers, and report these signals to the internet server during thetour. This data can supplement any GPS user position data. Thesemethods, supplemented by additional property located sensors, can allowthe invention's internet server to better estimate the location of theuser during the tour.

FIG. 1 shows an overview of one embodiment of the invention. Here userswho are interested in evaluating presently unoccupied real estateproperty can use their smartphones or other computerized devices tocontact (usually over the internet) a suitably configured internetserver. The users can use various registration methods (optionally withthe aid of a “tour app”) to establish their identities and schedule atour. Those users that are accepted can automatically receive an“unlocking code” or other type of signal from the server that unlocksany electronic locks protecting the property. The use of such electroniclock techniques was previously taught by the applicant in commonly ownedand invented U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/844,291, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference. computerizedmethods have multiple uses, including automatically enabling authorized“prospect” type users to tour property by themselves (unaccompanied byany other person). These methods can comprise conducting at least onescheduled tour of at least one internet-connected real-world real estateproperty using a user-assigned validated personal mobile computerizeddevice (such as a Smartphone) that is wirelessly connected to at leastone internet server. Other types of mobile computerized devices, such astablet computers and laptop computers may also be used. Here the term“smartphone” will occasionally be used in the alternative to mean apersonal mobile computerized device.

The user-assigned validated personal mobile computerized devices willtypically comprise at least one processor, memory, graphical userinterface, at least one wireless transceiver (often a cellulartransceiver, and even other wireless transceivers such as WIFI andBluetooth transceivers). The device will typically also comprise adevice camera (e.g., at least one video camera) and at least onelocation determining device (such as a GPS receiver). The server willtypically comprise at least one server processor, server memory,operating system, server software such as operating system software anddatabase software, and at least a network interface to the internet.

The internet-connected real-world real estate property will typicallycomprise at least one electronic lock (e.g., one or more electronicallylocked door) and at least one property-associated internet-connectedsensor.

Smart Access Management for Automatic On-Demand Tours

According to the method, the user will typically use the at least oneinternet server to schedule a tour time window (here the term “time”generally means both the time of day and the date) for the user tophysically (in person) tour the real-world real estate property. If theserver has a schedule of available times, then this scheduling processmay be fully automatic. Alternatively, the server may contact a human orother computerized device (such as an automated scheduling system onanother computer) for authorization. To authorize the user, the serverwill typically also receive, user presence information from theuser-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device and/or theat least one property internet-connected sensor that the user is presentat the designated real-world real estate property during the scheduledtour time-window. According to the method, the at least one internetserver and/or the user-assigned validated personal mobile computerizeddevice (e.g., the user's smartphone) can be used to unlock theelectronic lock (door) during this tour time window, thus allowing theuser to enter the real-world real estate property. In an alternativeembodiment, the prospect user may request more immediate access than apre-scheduled appointment. The owner or broker or tour operator maygrant such access in real-time and send the prospect user a one-timeunlock code.

FIG. 1 also shows that various sensors on the property, such as videocameras and/or other sensor types, can communicate with the server,allowing the server to collect information on user's activities (e.g.,locations as a function of time). In an alternative embodiment, the usermay use the video cameras with their own mobile device such as asmartphone or table to establish a video chat. Either the prospect useror the owner, broker or tour operator may use such mobile device toconduct these video chats. As example would be the prospect usercontacting or being contacted by the other users (owner, broker, touroperator) while touring the property. In such a case, it is as if theowner, broker, tour operator is right there to answer the prospectuser's questions and provide information. They may also ask informationof the prospect user.

Put alternatively, in some embodiments, the method can further use theuser-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device and/or theat least one property sensor to inform the at least one internet serverof least some user activities while the user is present on thereal-world real estate property. The server can then retransmit theseactivities and/or store these activities in server memory as desired forfurther analysis.

In some embodiments, the method can further use the processor and atleast one location determining device (such as device GPS sensors,and/or location information from property based sensors or propertybased devices to display at least some information about the real-worldreal estate property on the smartphone's (or other personal computerizeddevices) graphical user interface (or other display) according to thelocation of the personal mobile computerized device during the one ormore scheduled tours. Here, for example, if the server determines thatthe user has wandered into a kitchen, the server may transmit kitcheninformation to the user's smartphone, or other mobile computerizeddevice. In another embodiment, the server may present different optionsfor fixtures and/or configurations related to the location specificarea, in this instance, the kitchen. So, the user may be presented withdifferent choices for appliances. Another good example is the user maywalk out to the back yard of a model home and be presented with choicesfor further property improvements such as decks, pools, hot tubs,landscaping. All these choices may be presented in an augmented realitypresentation in which the improvements are superimposed on the existingreal-life environment. Vendors and/or contractors for such furniture,fixtures, equipment, capital improvements to the property can be linkedto the prospect. Thereby saving the prospect time and providing thesevendors and/or contractors an opportunity to present their services andgoods. In this embodiment, such vendors and/or contractors may also beconsidered users of the invention, and may optionally be charged a feefor the introduction to the prospect user.

FIG. 1 also shows that in some embodiments, the system can optionallyalso facilitate any user calls with the property owners, brokers, orlandlords during the tour. The system server can also include variousdocument auto-population methods and secure transmission methods tofacilitate the exchange of various documents, such as bids, contracts,service orders, and the like. These will be discussed in more detaillater in this disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a pictorial overview of one embodiment of the invention,here showing how the users may first verify their identity upon initialaccount setup, optionally use various methods to search for desirableproperties, and either manually or automatically schedule visits tocertain properties, even if the properties are unoccupied at the time ofthe scheduled visit. The property will often have at least oneelectronic lock, and at least one sensor, to monitor the user and topermit those authorized users to open the electronic lock with asuitable server-supplied electronic code. The property will often havemultiple sensors, such as one sensor per room, to monitor the visitoruser's activities during the tour. In addition to security functions,this visitor activity data is very useful for many other purposes, suchas allowing others to determine what portions of the property showevidence of unusually good or bad user interest. As previouslydiscussed, the system can further include various types of documentauto-populate functionality to facilitate user lease/purchase of theproperty, as well as work with other third parties as needed. These willalso be discussed in further detail later in this disclosure.

FIG. 3A shows an overview of how some of the major hardware portions ofthe invention may interact. This figure shows three properties (hererepresented by houses 100, 102, 104). Each house is equipped with anelectronically locked entrance door (110, 112, 114), and each house hastwo sensors, such as front door camera sensors (116, 118, 120) and atleast one room monitoring sensor (122, 124, 126). These sensors and theelectronic lock all communicate over the internet (128) with an internetserver (130) with an associated server memory or database 132). Here,for example, the sensors and lock may be equipped with shorter rangewireless transceivers, such as WIFI transceivers, and may communicate tothe internet by one or more property WIFI routers that are in turnconnected to the internet. Note that in this disclosure, all electroniclocks are considered to be connected to doors, and thus the term “door”will frequently be omitted, and the term “electronic lock” will beassumed to refer to an electronically locked door. Note that a propertymay have more than one electronic lock and more than one electronicallylocked door, so that in some cases, users may be given entrance to someportions of the property, but not other portions of the property.

In this example, assume that all three properties are also managed bythe same person, who can be the owner or an agent of the owner such as abroker, property manager, tour manager, and the like. In addition toautomatically monitoring the status of the electronic locks and sensors,the server can optionally also transmit information from these variouslocks and sensors to a computerized device (134) assigned to this“agent” person (136). In some embodiments, the status of multipleproperties can be displayed simultaneously on an agent dashboard (on adisplay screen/graphical user interface 138) running on the agentcomputerized device (134).

In this example, assume that three different “prospect” users (140, 142,and 144), each equipped with their smartphones (146, 148, and 150) havepreviously contacted the server (130). Users 140 and 144 havesuccessfully validated themselves and have successfully scheduled tourtimes, and are appearing at the correct tour times. However, user 142has either not correctly validated his or her identity, or has notreceived permission to tour, or is appearing at the wrong time.

The server (130) is configured to automatically recognize, based on therespective smartphone provided identity validation information andoptional facial recognition of the user by other sensors such as thefront door cameras (116, 118, 120), that the correct users are presentat the correct scheduled time. Sever 130 thus transmits suitableelectronic key information to unlock electronically locked doors (116,and 120). Users (140) can now proceed to tour property (110), and user(144) can now proceed to tour property (104). However, because user(142) validation and/or scheduling has failed, the server (130) does nottransmit the electronic key information, and the door (112) remainslocked. User (142) cannot tour property (102).

As will be discussed later in this disclosure, additional propertyassociated sensors (122, 124, 126) can monitor user activities duringthe tour. These activities can be stored in the server database (132)and/or can be transmitted to other parties, such as agent computerizeddevice (134), and may be optionally be displayed on a computer displayscreen or graphical user interface configured as a dashboard (138).

In some embodiments, such as when at least one sensor (such as 116, 118,120) monitors at least a door equipped with an electronic lock (110,112, 114), the user activities sent to the least one internet server(130) can comprise the time (and date) and identity of the user(prospect) (140, 144) when the user used the door (110, 114) to enterthe property (100, 104). In alternative embodiments, the invention mayalso use motion sensors and/or the electronic lock to determine when theprospect user left the property, thus, it can be determined how long theprospect-users stayed at the property and that the property is nowvacant once again.

Types of sensors: The various property-based sensors that may be usedinclude door lock sensors (which may return time, date, identify oflocking and unlocking signal), infrared sensors that may analyze howmany people are in a room, their direction of entrance/exit, and theirdirection of motion. Cell phone/smartphone sensors may detect thepresence of cell phones (smartphones) and capture unique cell phoneidentification information. Various RFID and Near Field (NFC) sensorsmay also be used to capture user proximity and user interactions withvarious portions of the property. Audio sensors, including microphones,and/or integration with smart, internet connected audio devices (such asAmazon Alexa, Google devices) may capture sound information that canalso be used to identify or locate visitors. Magnetic field detectors orradio field interference detectors can also be used to identifyvisitors. Pressure sensors may also be used. Additionally, the systemmay integrate with preexisting alarm sensors and obtain data from thesesensors as well.

Various cameras, often internet connected video cameras may also beused, often in conjunction with suitable automated vision softwareand/or AI image recognition software, to identify the location ofvisitors as well as their orientation and even their eye gaze directionas a function of time.

Various types of electronic locks and unlocking methods may be used, andthe invention is generally agnostic as to the choice of the specificelectronic lock and unlocking method.

Thus, in some embodiments, the electronic lock is configured to open inresponse to a wirelessly transmitted unlocking code (usually transmittedby server 130), and any of various options including:

Option A: the user-assigned validated personal mobile computerizeddevice (smartphone) obtains the unlocking code from the internet server(130) and wirelessly transmits (e.g., Bluetooth, WIFI, RFID, Near field)the unlocking code to the electronic lock.

Option B: the internet server uses information obtained from theuser-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device (smartphone)to directly transmit (e.g., over the internet) an unlocking code to theelectronic lock.

Option C: the internet server transmits an optical (barcode or QR code)or manually enterable unlocking code to the user-assigned validatedpersonal mobile computerized device, and the user shows the optical codeto the electronic lock, or enters the unlocking code manually.

Validating the User

An important part of the invention is ensuring that the user identity isproperly confirmed. Here various methods can be used. For example, theprocess of further user-assigning and validating the user's personalmobile computerized device (e.g., smartphone) to a specific user can bedone by the following steps.

The user may use their mobile computerized device (smartphone) tocontact the internet server (130). The server can automatically querythe mobile computerized device that device's identification data. Thisidentification data can be, or include, the device's IMEI code(International Mobile Equipment Identity number, which is unique mobilebroadband device identification number). Other device identifyinginformation, such as SIM card identification codes, or other devicehardware identification number or numbers from the personal mobilecomputerized device may also be obtained and used. The mobile device canalso be used to obtain certain personal user identification data (suchas the user's driver's license, credit card information, and the like).The mobile device can also be used to upload one or more photos of theuser, or other biometric information as desired.

In a preferred embodiment, the internet server (130) may then optionallyalso confirm the accuracy of the device identification data and the useridentification data (often by requesting user verification, contactingthird party servers, and the like). When the accuracy of this data isconfirmed, the server will then complete the process of user-assigningand validating the personal mobile computerized device. In lesspreferred embodiments, however, one or more validation methods may beskipped, and thus the “user-assigned” and “validated” options arepreferred but optional, at least if the property owner or agent wishesto assume the risk of skipping these steps.

Additional Safety Features

Users will often be using the invention to tour unfamiliar propertyunattended by any other individuals. Thus, in addition to propertysecurity issues, user security is also an issue. Thus, it will often beuseful to equip the system with additional user security features. Insome embodiments, the “tour app” may further be provided with a security“SOS feature,” where the user (140, 144) can signal any of the internetserver (130), and the owner, broker, or authorized agent (136) ofvarious property (100, 102, 104) security issues. These security issuescan range from physical problems (e.g., broken windows, unlocked doors,water damage, objectionable animals, etc.) to personal safety issues,such as the possible presence of an intruder on the property. A user(140, 144) worried about a potential intruder, but lacking enough directknowledge to dial 911 or call the police, can nonetheless discretelysignal the remote owner, broker, or authorized agent (136) to maintain ahigher level of vigilance, and be ready to call for backup. The systemcan also be configured to allow the user to signal the level of concern,from “please watch me” to “call for help immediately.” As needed, thesystem can also be configured to dial for assistance directly in highurgency situations.

In some embodiments, the system may also be configured to automaticallymonitor the microphone on the user's mobile device (146, 160) and useeither human or artificial intelligence (AI) methods to make independentassessments as to if help should be summoned. Additionally, oralternatively, an AI system, such as a computer vision system, couldalso be set to an enhanced mode to monitor any property video camerasfor problematic issues (such as the presence of an unexpected orunauthorized individual) in such situations.

Thus, if the user has 1) previously signaled a heightened securityconcern level, triggering microphone monitoring; and 2) the AI systemthen detects the audio signature of a scream, or an unexpectedindividual; then the system server (130) may automatically dial localemergency services (such as 911). The system may automatically reportthe property address, the user's previously transmitted level ofconcern, and playback the scream's recorded audio. Alternatively, theowner, broker, or authorized agent (136) may do these functionsmanually.

FIG. 3B shows a detail of a personal mobile computerized device, such asa smartphone.

In some embodiments of the invention, the smartphone (150) or otherpersonal mobile computerized device may be a smartphone, watch, ortablet type computerized device, exemplified by the popular Apple iPadand iPhone devices, the Android cellular phone and tablet devices, andthe Microsoft family of tablet computers and mobile devices. In general,such devices normally comprise a high-resolution display screen (152),often equipped with touch sensors, which often functions as the primaryor secondary graphical user interface for the device. The devicesadditionally usually comprise at least one processor (154) (which mayhave one or more cores and graphics units), memory (156) (oftenapproximately in the gigabyte range or higher), speakers or audio outputjacks (158), microphones or audio input jacks. The devices often alsocomprise various accelerometers (160) or other types of motion andposition sensors (162) such as Hall-effect magnetometer sensors capableof detecting device movement and orientation on the local scale. Thedevices also often comprise Global Positioning Receivers (164) capableof with, at least when supplemented by optional wireless signals fromthe Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), to pinpointing device positionto an accuracy within a few feet or better. The devices may alsocomprise video cameras (166), and biometric sensors (168) such asfingerprint scanners or facial recognition scanners.

Such devices additionally often comprise one or more wirelesstransceivers (166). These wireless transceivers can include cellularphone transceivers (e.g., such as 4G, 5G transceivers), WiFitransceivers, Bluetooth™ transceivers and the like. In some embodiments,these transceivers can, in turn, provide device connectivity to theInternet, and hence to various servers throughout the world, and alsodetect local short-range transceivers (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth.)

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart showing how users of the system may initiallylog onto the system server and establish accounts to use the system.Here most of the various steps are generally implemented on the serverusing at least one server processor.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart showing additional detail of how users of thesystem may validate their presence and identity on the system. Here, asbefore, most of the various steps are generally implemented on theserver using at least one server processor.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of how, in some embodiments, the user mayprovide their credit card information to assist in the user validationprocess (some users may also do this to pay for the various systemservices). Other user identification and validation methods, such asgovernment issued identification cards (e.g., driver's licenses) mayalso be used. Here, as before, most of the various steps are generallyimplemented on the server (130) using at least one server processor.

FIG. 7 shows another overview of how one embodiment of the invention mayoperate. Here, before the user (e.g., prospective property purchaser,leaser, or renter of the property) tours the property, the persons(e.g., the owner or authorized agents) responsible for the property willset up suitable property records in the system server (130)(specifically in the server's memory or database 132). These methodswere also previously described in applicant's commonly owned andinvented patent applications 61/621,077 (filed Apr. 6, 2012), and Ser.No. 13/844,291 (filed Mar. 15, 2013) the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

These records will often include the property location, and propertylayout (such as a floor plan). This will typically designate thelocation of various on-site sensors, electronic locks, electronic lockcodes, and various locations of interest. During setup, various types ofinformation (such as electronic messages, electronic brochures, videos)may be assigned to either the property as a whole or to various specific“geo-tagged” locations on the property. Thus, for example, when a usertours a kitchen in the property, the user's location can be detected bya kitchen mounted sensor, and sent to the server. If an appropriate“geo-tagged” set of information, such as electronic brochures on thekitchen's appliances, has been entered into the server, then when theuser enters the kitchen, and this is reported by the kitchen sensor, thesever may automatically transmit this “kitchen geo-tagged” set ofinformation, such as electronic kitchen brochures, to the user'ssmartphone or other user-assigned, validated, personal mobilecomputerized device. In the example shown in FIG. 7 , at least some ofthe sensors may be internet connected video cameras, here called CCTVdevices. Other types of sensors, such as motion sensors, IR sensors,sound sensors, and the like may also be used.

In some embodiments, when the property comprises a plurality of rooms,and the sensors comprise a plurality of sensors disposed to monitor userpresence in the various rooms, the user activities sent to the at leastone internet server (130) can comprise times that the user entered andexited various rooms. Here, the internet server (130) or othercomputerized devices can be configured to use the times that the userentered and exited the various rooms to determine, for example, the usertime spent in the various rooms, the total time that the user spent onthe tour, and the route that the user took while traversing the variousrooms during the tour.

Providing information to the user during the tour:

In some embodiments, the information that the server (130) sends to theuser mobile device (such as smartphone 146) can be “geo-tagged”information—that is, information that is only provided when the user isat a particular location on the property. Here, the user-assignedvalidated personal mobile computerized device (146) can obtain thelocation of the user (140) from the at least one location determiningdevice (such as a smartphone GPS device, optical sensor, RFID sensor,NFC sensor, and the like). This user device (146) can then transmit thatuser's location to the server (130). The server can, in turn, use thisuser location to determine when to provide (transmit) the geo-taggedinformation to the user's computerized device (146).

This “geo-tagged” information can comprise nearly any type ofinformation about the property, and can also comprise, tour information(e.g., a conducted walk-through of the property). Here the user-assignedvalidated personal mobile computerized device (146) can use this tourinformation to provide self-guided tours to the user (140). Theseself-guided tours can be in a sequential manner, going from key locationto key location and receiving the appropriate geo-tagged information andperhaps video chat with the owner, broker or tour operator.Alternatively, these tours can be performed in a random manner in whichthe prospect user chooses how to tour the property. In this event, theinvention can track the prospect user's movements throughout theproperty (see FIGS. 19A, B, and C) and their engagement with geo-taggedinformation. It can then present a list of key points and/or locationspossibly missed by the prospect user to remind the prospect user to tourthese areas of the property. In this way, it is an automated and perhapsbetter version of what an owner or broker walking through the propertywith the prospect may do in that no key area is missed. Furthermore, atour operator can remotely track what key areas of the property havebeen seen or not seen and suggest to the prospect user what else theymay want to see.

In some embodiments, which were previously disclosed in applicant's U.S.patent applications 61/621,077 and Ser. No. 13/844,291 (now U.S. Pat.No. 9,978,109) the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference, at least some of this at least some information can compriseaugmented reality information. Here the user can use the user-assignedvalidated personal mobile computerized device (146) device camera, andthis augmented reality information, to provide an augmented realitydisplay on the graphical user interface (this is also discussed infurther detail later in this disclosure).

Note further that in some embodiments, this at least some informationabout the real-world real estate property (such as 100) can furthercomprise additional information about either the real-world real estateproperty itself and/or the real-world real-estate's local environment.This can include local demographics, prices, crime rates, schoolinformation, access to raw materials, access to transportation, and thelike.

FIG. 8 shows a more detailed flowchart showing how the user may usetheir handheld computerized device (146) to contact the server (130),receive tour permission, schedule one or more tours, and receiveinformation, such as electronic digital keys, on their device thatenables the user to unlock electronic lock equipped property doors toaccess the property. If the desired, the system may also be configuredto allow the prospect-user to request immediate access to a property(for example, by contacting the owner, broker, or other agent, andrequesting that they bypass the system's normal scheduling functions).Alternatively, as previously discussed, the server (130) may relay theelectronic unlock commands directly to the electronic lock (110) when itreceives verification that the user (and the user's user-assignedvalidated personal mobile computerized device) is at the electronic lockequipped door.

FIG. 9A shows a more detailed software flow chart showing how the serversoftware may act during a tour. Assume here that the user is potentiallyinterested in purchasing, renting, or leasing the property, and is thustermed a “prospect” in real estate terminology. In this example, atleast one of the property sensors is a video equipped doorbell (such as116) that is mounted near the location of the electronic lock (110). Thesystem server (130) can be configured, in some embodiments, toadditionally or alternatively take image data from this video door bell(or other video sensor configured to monitor the door area), and toperform additional user verification steps by using image recognitiontechnology to confirm that the user's facial features match userreference information available to the server (such as the user'spreviously entered driver's license photo). Once the user is verified,in this example, the server (130) transmits a digital key to unlock theelectronic lock to the user's handheld computerized device (smartphone146), and the lock (110) is unlocked.

During this tour, as previously discussed, various sensors on theproperty keep track of the user (prospect) activities during the tour,such as which rooms the user visits and the various times that the uservisits the room. This information is typically stored in the server'smemory (132) for later analysis and alternatively may be transmitted inreal-time to another device, such as a broker or property owner's ortour-guide's computerized device, to enable them to remotely monitor theprogress of the tour (see FIG. 3A, 134, 136, 138 ). As previouslydiscussed, if appropriate geo-tagged information has been stored in theserver (130), then as the user enters various pre-designated locations(such as rooms), the system server may transmit this geo-taggedinformation to the user's smartphone (146). As previously discussed, thesystem can also be configured to facilitate optional video or audiochats between the user (prospect) and the owner, broker, or otherdesignated agent (see FIGS. 16A and 16B).

In some embodiments, the system may be configured to automatically askfor immediate user (prospect) feedback on the property. Here, the servercan automatically transmit a questionnaire or survey to the user'ssmartphone, and the user prompted to give feedback immediately. Anexample of such questionnaire methods is shown in FIG. 9B.

Other options also exist. In an alternative embodiment, the prospect mayarrive at the property and start a tour app on the prospect'ssmartphone. If the prospect has previously signed up with the systemserver using the tour app, then the prospect can self-identify using thesmartphone biometric sensors (smartphone facial recognition, smartphonefingerprint sensors 168, etc.). The tour app can then transmitconfirmation of the prospect's identity and location to the systemserver, and the system server can then unlock the appropriate propertylocks. Alternatively, if the system server has previously transmittedthe proper unlock codes to the tour app, then the tour app itself maytransmit the appropriate unlocking codes to the relevant property locksdirectly. FIG. 9B shows that in some embodiments, the system may also beconfigured to automatically transmit surveys/questionnaires to thevarious user computerized devices, and to record the results in servermemory (or elsewhere).

In other embodiments, this feedback may only be transmitted at thediscretion of the user. In either event, once the server is informedabout the user (prospect) evaluation of the property, this can be storedin server memory (132) or transmitted to other devices such as (134). Inany event, regardless of if user feedback is obtained or not, after thetour (such as evidenced by sensor reporting that the property is againvacant), the server may additionally query additional lock sensors toensure that the door (110) is locked, and or take appropriate steps(either sending locking commands to the lock, or error messages to theowner, broker or authorized agent, such as FIG. 3A 136) that the doorhas been left open, and that and manual intervention to close the doormay be required.

Note that in some embodiments at least some of the user activities whilethe user is present on the real-world real estate property can be storedin a user activity database (such as in server memory or database 132).Here, the invention may use at least one processor (which may be aserver (130) computer processor, or an external computerized deviceprocessor such as a device 134 processor) to query this user activitydatabase (assume here that this is database is at least initially storedin 132) and produce any of graphical and analytic reports based on theseuser activities. These queries can include tour durations, tours pertime-period, floor plans most toured, as well as other analytics andgraphs.

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of how the server can automatically query thevarious sensors and other optional equipment at a given real estateproperty, and store various user activities (as determined by thesevarious sensors) in memory for later analysis.

As previously discussed, even if no optional equipment is installed at agiven real estate property, the server can interface with the tour appon the user's smartphone, and acquire user activity information by wayof the smartphone tour app. As previously discussed, the smartphone tourapp can be used, optionally in conjunction with property located RFdevices such as, WIFI or Bluetooth devices, to report on user movementthroughout a property over the course of a tour. Additionally, byinterfacing with additional Smartphone devices such as smartphonemagnetometer sensors (Hall effect magnetometers), information pertainingto user orientation during a tour may also be reported to the server forlater analysis.

Handling Electronic Documents:

The invention is also inspired, in part, by the insight that theefficiency of the real estate management process can be greatlyfacilitated if the system is configured to handle a wide variety ofdifferent electronic documents. Some of these electronic documentmethods, which may be implemented as part of the previously discussedtour app, or by other methods, are shown below.

FIG. 11 shows a software flow chart providing details of how the servercan pre-populate and transmit various electronic documents to the user'ssmartphone (either to the tour app, or to other smartphone applications)to streamline various transactions. In this example, the electronicdocuments can be user bids and counter-offers on the property ofinterest.

Here, for example, at least some information about the real-world realestate property can further comprise at least one fillable formelectronic document. In this embodiment, the internet server (such as130) can use previously stored information on both the user (140) andthe real-world real estate property (100) to automatically pre-populateat least some portions of this fillable form electronic document, thuscreating one or more pre-populated fillable form electronic documents.These documents can include housing inspection documents, as well asother types of documents such as bids, contracts of any type. Thedocuments may be from multiple vendors, brokers, bankers, or otherprofessions, as desired. Here the server (such as 130) can transmitthese pre-populated fillable form-field electronic documents to theuser-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device, such as(146).

The user-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device (146)can be further configured to securely receive this pre-populatedfillable form electronic document, as well as to receive input from theuser (140), thus creating a user edited pre-populated fillableform-field electronic document. The device (146) and/or server (130) canthen transmit this user edited pre-populated fillable form electronicdocument to the desired internet destination.

FIG. 12 shows a software flowchart providing more details of how theserver can pre-populate and transmit various electronic documents to theuser's smartphone to streamline various transactions. Here, as discussedabove, in addition to electronic bid documents, other documents such asreal estate sales or leasing agreements may also be handled by thesystem.

FIG. 13 shows a software flowchart showing how the system can optionallyalso handle audio or video chat requests between the user (prospect) andthe property owner or agent of the property owner. In a preferredembodiment, such audio or video chat requests may also be implementedusing the previously discussed smartphone tour app. However, this is notintended to be limiting, and other applications (software) and devicesmay also be used for these purposes.

FIG. 14 shows a high-level overview of how, in some embodiments, thesystem can progress from a tour request, optionally transmit and receivetour questionnaires (see FIG. 9B), and proceed up through an exchange ofelectronic documents for various contracts.

Dashboards of Multiple Tours:

FIG. 15 shows that in some embodiments, the server may aggregate sensoror smartphone tour app data from multiple properties and may assemblethis data so that, when displayed on a computer display or computergraphical user interface, a dashboard of historical or real time data isrevealed so that multiple user tours over multiple user properties canbe viewed simultaneously. This dashboard data can then be transmitted toanother computerized device (here a laptop computer) for viewing. Notethat this dashboard data may be provided as a web-based application(e.g., website), and it may be viewed on non-mobile computerized devices(e.g., desktop computers) as well. There is no requirement that theremote owner, broker, or agent (136) use a mobile device while workingremote from a given property.

In this embodiment, the system may be configured to graphically presenta dashboard of real-time information about a plurality of scheduledtours of a plurality of internet-connected real-world real estateproperty. These can be presented simultaneously on at least one computerscreen as desired.

This embodiment enables a property owner/broker to handle multiple toursat once. In FIG. 15 , the scheduled tours are on the left side. Theactive tours are in a lighter shade, and the active site video camerasare also indicated by a light-colored dot. If a property does not haveany video camera sensors (here called CCTV), this is also indicated. Thesystem can optionally also enable various video chats between theowner/broker and various users (prospects) during their tours of variousproperties.

FIG. 16A shows that in some embodiments, the server generated dashboardcan also be configured to enable the user touring the property(prospect) and the dashboard user (owner broker) to video video-chat,while the dashboard user can continue to monitor tours on various otherproperties.

FIG. 16B shows that if multiple calls from multiple users touringdifferent properties (multiple prospects) come in at once, then theserver may also be configured to queue the calls in sequence, andoptionally also provide waiting messages to the waiting (queued) calls.

Monitoring Users During a Tour

FIG. 17 shows how in some embodiments, the invention may monitor thepositions and orientation of various persons on a real-estate propertyrelative to various pre-designated locations of interest on theproperty. The system can use this data to analyze the behavior of theseindividuals. In this figure, assume that user (140), previouslydiscussed in FIG. 3A, has now entered property (100), and in (200), weare now viewing the floor plan of property (100).

Here assume that the previously discussed at least one sensor (122) is aplurality of sensors (122 a, 122 b, 122 c), each positioned to monitordifferent portions (rooms, locations of interest) in the floor plan ofproperty (200). Further, assume that server (130) has previously beenconfigured to recognize that at least kitchen (202) is a “location ofinterest”. User activities, including positions and even theorientations of various user(s) can be monitored by kitchen positionedsensor (122 a). This can be many types of sensors, but for simplicity,in this example assume that 122 a is an overhead camera with enoughresolution to view the user, determine the user's location in thekitchen, and determine (with suitable computer vision software) whichway the user is facing. Alternatively, or additionally, user positionand orientation during a tour may be also acquired using the previouslydiscussed smartphone tour app.

As the user (140) tours the house, various house (property) sensors(such as 122 a, 122 b, 122 c) or tour app data can keep track of whenthe user enters and exits a particular location. This can also besupplemented by optional position data reported by user smartphone (146)(or other handheld computerized devices) to server (130).

In this example, assume that the kitchen is a bit unusual in that it maybe painted in a somewhat leading-edge color scheme, or may have someunusual higher end appliances in it, and the owner is trying to judge ifthe users either like the kitchen “location of interest”. Here “like” isestimated by determining if the user spends more or less time thanaverage in the kitchen, and/or if the user position faces the appliances(which themselves can be designated as points of interest) more or lessthan average.

The server (130) can be configured to keep track of the user time spentin the kitchen, as well as number of return visits to the kitchen, usertime spent oriented towards or away from the appliances, the distancebetween the user (140) and the appliances, and so on. The server (130)or other computerized device can also compare this user data to averagevalues from other properties and other tours. This analysis will givethe owner or agent (136) information, in this example, as to if theusers are attracted or repelled by the leading-edge color scheme, andare noticing and are attracted or repelled to the high-end appliances.

This can provide valuable information. For example, if users spend lesstime than average in a kitchen point of interest, this can providequantitative evidence that the kitchen needs to be upgraded. Note thatalthough this functionality is highly useful in a “prospect only” tourvisit to an otherwise vacant property, this method may be used in othersituations, such as open houses and various types of focus groups, aswell.

Put alternatively, this user tracking embodiment can itself be anothercomputerized method, here a method that is particularly useful forsimultaneously monitoring a plurality of “prospect” user touring aplurality of different properties, but which can have other applicationsas well.

Here, the method uses at least one real-world real estate propertyconfigured with at least one internet connected sensor (such as 116,122) to monitor activities of a plurality of real-world visitors (140,here “visitor is a human user, who may or may not be a “prospect”) tothis (or other) real estate property, and report on the activities ofthis plurality of visitors to at least one internet server (130).

As before, at least some of these visitors (140) will be carryinguser-assigned personal mobile computerized devices (e.g., smartphones,146) that also wirelessly transmit unique identification codes (toserver 130) that can be traced to specific visitors and specific visitorcharacteristics. Here to better track the users, usually before thetouring begins, the server memory (132) may store various designatedlocations of interest (such as locations on the property, kitchenappliances, bathrooms, and so on) on the real estate property ofinterest (such as 100, see also floor plan 200), in the server's memory(132). Alternatively, these locations of interest may be added later,after the user activity data has already been recorded. In otherembodiments these same measurements and data points can be utilized inother types of real estate such as retail, office, warehouse andmanufacturing, as examples, and any type of real property.

Here, assume that each visitor will also have at least an orientationcorresponding to the visitor's field of view. This can, for example,correspond at least to the front of the user's head versus the back ofthe user's head, which can usually be easily distinguished by varioustypes of sensors such as cameras and automated image recognitionsensors, and other types of sensors).

Further, the various (least one) internet connected sensor(s) (here suchas 122 a, 122 b, 122 c) can be configured to cover at least one of thedesignated locations of interest. This method will use at least oneprocessor (which can be a server computer processor or other processorlocated elsewhere such as on device 134) to determine, as a function oftime, distances between the visitors and the various designatedlocations of interest. In a preferred embodiment, the system will alsodetermine the orientation of the visitors relative to at least some ofthe designated locations of interest as well.

Here the server (130) will typically identify the various visitors (146)by, for example, receiving the wirelessly transmitted uniqueidentification codes, and may optionally also determine the specificvisitor characteristics for at least some the visitors (using the uniqueidentification codes, or by other visitor identification data).

In some embodiments, the server database or memory (132) or memorylocated elsewhere, such as on device (134) will accumulate information(statistical data) on the locations and orientations and characteristicsof the various visitors (often over multiple visitors) relative to atleast some the various designated real-estate locations of interest.Here the system will also determine, for at least some of these visitorcharacteristics, if at least some locations of interest correlate withstatistically higher or lower distances and/or orientations between atleast some visitor characteristics and at least some designatedlocations of interest. Put alternatively and more simply, the system candetermine if some types of visitors preferentially visit or avoidcertain locations of interest. This can allow the system and variousowners or owner agents (136) to determine what parts of the property thevisitors (which can be prospects) tend to react either favorably orunfavorably.

The above monitoring system need not only be used to monitor prospectsduring tours of real estate. It can also monitor park visitors, shoppersin a store, and so on. However, certainly the above methods are veryuseful for monitoring prospects during at least one scheduled tour of atleast one internet-connected real-world real estate property.

Asking Survey Questions During a Tour:

In some embodiments, the device analyzing the data (such as server 130)can use previous determinations of statistically higher or lowerdistances and/or orientations between at least some visitorcharacteristics and at least some designated locations of interest toautomatically transmit questions to visitors (140) carryinguser-assigned personal mobile computerized devices (146) either duringor after the visitor conducts a tour of the real estate property (suchas 100, 200).

This server (130) can also be used to receive answers to thesequestions. This data can be used to further correlate at least thedetermination of statistically higher or lower distances and/ororientations of the visitors, with at least some the visitorcharacteristics, and with and at least some the designated locations ofinterest, with these answers. For example, if tour prospects (146) startto avoid white kitchens, this information can be discovered.

Other Methods of Determining User Orientation:

Modern smartphones contain hall effect magnetometer devices, which ineffect act as a built-in compass that can be used to determine theorientation of the smartphone. In some embodiments, the user smartphone“tour app” may further be configured to use such hall effectmagnetometer devices to determine changes in the relative orientation ofthe user's smartphone as the use tours the property. Although users can,of course, shift the positions of their smartphones during a given tour,this hall effect direction data can be used, at least in conjunctionwith occasional video data from a tour site, to help estimate userorientation during times when the user may not be in video camera range.For example, if video data at one location shows that the smartphone isin the user's pocket, as well as the orientation of the user from facialrecognition, then the offset between the tour app's reported directionof the smartphone and the facial recognition estimate of the userorientation can be calculated. This offset can be used to approximatethe user orientation when the user passes out of camera range.

Augmented Reality Embodiments

FIG. 18 shows how in some embodiments, the server may store variousvirtual objects from various sources, and upon user demand from a usersmartphone or other computerized device, transmit various virtualobjects and associated object information to the user computerizeddevices. The user's computerized device (either by the “tour app”, or adifferent type of software app) may be configured to take real-timecamera images (and optionally also obtain light detection and ranging,e.g., LIDAR, measurements) of certain locations on the property, combinereal-time images with the transmitted virtual object information, andprovide augmented reality displays of these virtual objects in thecontext of the property or portion of the property. These augmentedreality displays may be displayed on either a standard mobile devicedisplay screen, or on an augmented reality headset (or augmented realityglasses). The system server may be further configured with suitable APIand a database of different virtual objects and associated objectinformation from multiple sources, such as suppliers of actualreal-world objects and services that are being represented by thevarious virtual objects and associated virtual object information. Thiscan streamline the ability to rapidly configure the real estateaccording to the desires of the persons doing the configuration.

In FIG. 18 , user (140) with an associated smartphone (146) and “tourapp” is now touring the inside of property (100), and in particular, isinterested in the kitchen (210). Assume that the user (140), althoughgenerally liking the property (100), doesn't like the kitchen stove(204) or other appliances, and wants to visualize how the kitchen wouldlook with a different stove or other appliance. Assume also that anappliance manufacturer or other manufacturer, service provider, orvendor (214) has used their computerized device (212) previouslyuploaded virtual objects and virtual object appearance information for asuitable stove (216) to the server database (132).

User (140) can use their computerized device (146) and tour app or othertype of app to image this region of the kitchen (206) that includesstove (204), and can also select a suitable replacement stove. Theserver (130) sends this stove virtual object appearance information andvirtual object associated information (stove price, sizes, etc.) to theuser's tour app. The user's computerized device and tour app can thenallow the user to visualize how a replacement stove (or anotherappliance might work). The same principle can be used to virtuallypopulate the property with a virtual staging set of furniture, visualizeremodeling, visualize landscaping, and so on.

Thus, this embodiment can be a computerized method that is particularlyuseful for augmented reality applications. This method can compriseusing a personal mobile computerized device (which can be a smartphone,such as 146) comprising at least one processor, memory, a graphical userinterface, at least one wireless transceiver, and at least one locationdetermining device (such as a GPS device or other location determiningsystem as previously discussed), as well as and at least one camera toimage (here image also includes video) a portion of a real estateproperty. This still or video image of a real estate property is termeda property image. The method also uses the mobile computerized device(146) to receive, for a plurality of virtual objects, virtual objectappearance information and virtual object associated information from atleast one internet server (such as 130, here also includingmemory/database 132).

This internet server (130) is configured with a database (132) providinga standardized API for groups of virtual objects, virtual objectappearance information, and virtual object associated information. Ineffect, this internet server provides a gateway that permits a pluralityof vendors (here represented by vendor 214) of these virtual objects toenter each vendor's vendor associated virtual objects, virtual objectappearance information, and virtual object associated information. InFIG. 18 , one of the vendors is an appliance manufacturer that makes orstocks a variety of different stoves and has placed virtual objectscorresponding to these real-world stoves on a server (130) and database(132) using the vendor's computerized device (212).

The personal mobile computerized device (smartphone 146)'s graphicaluser interface (or other display systems) and tour app (or other type ofapp) can then display, for at least some of the plurality of virtualobjects, any of virtual object appearance information and virtual objectassociated information. The user can use their mobile computerizeddevice, to enter a first user selection comprising at least one userselected virtual object for at least one of the pluralities of virtualobjects.

The personal mobile computerized device can then use its processor andthis first user selection, to combine the property image, and the atleast one user selected virtual object appearance information, toproduce an augmented reality property image on the graphical userinterface or other display. This allows the user to see the virtualobject in the context of the property image or video.

In some embodiments, the user may also use the personal mobilecomputerized device to enter a second user selection comprising at leastone modification of this first user selection. For example, the user mayalter the virtual object's color, dimensions, orientation, or otherproperties, and obtain an augmented reality view of these changes aswell. This first and optional second user selection can then betransmitted to the internet server (130).

In some embodiments (such as if, for example, the user was theninterested in obtaining the actual physical version of the virtualobject), the system can then use the internet server to transmit thisfirst user selection and optional second user selection to at least onevendor associated with those virtual objects in the first userselection, such as vendor (214) via vendor computerized device (212).

Virtual Staging:

In real estate, the term “staging” is used to describe when property,such as a house, is shown with custom furniture specifically selected tomake the house appeal to potential buyers. The process is expensive andrequires that outside furniture be selected and brought in specificallyto show the property. This furniture is then typically removed aftershowing.

In some embodiments, these methods may also be used to “virtually stage”a real estate property by storing a preselected staging set of virtualobject appearance information in the at least one internet server (130,132). Here the virtual objects may be furniture virtual objects that canalso be selected to make the property show well.

In this method, the server (130) can then transmit this preselectedstaging set of virtual object appearance information to a real-worldvisitor's mobile computerized device (146) and tour app, thus allowingthe real-world visitor (146) to view an augmented reality view of thispreselected staging set of virtual objects during, for example, areal-world tour of the real estate property.

Here, if the user is interested in obtaining real-world versions of thevirtual objects, the system can also be configured with an electronicdocument handling system, such as the previously described documenthandling system, to facilitate the process of interacting with thevarious entities that can provide the real-world version of the virtualobjects.

Here, as previously discussed, the internet server (130) can usepreviously stored information on the user (140) and the real estateproperty (100, 200) to automatically pre-populate at least some portionsof a fillable form electronic document, thus creating pre-populatedfillable form electronic documents. The server can then transmit thesepre-populated fillable form-field electronic documents to the user'smobile computerized device (146) and/or other devices as desired. Thiscan either be in the context of the previously discussed tour app, or inthe context of other smartphone software as well.

This personal mobile computerized device (146) and or other devices canbe further configured to securely receive this pre-populated fillableform electronic document, as well as to receive additional input fromthe user (140), thus creating a user edited pre-populated fillable formelectronic document. The user's device (146) can then, (using the serveras an optional intermediate relay) transmit this user editedpre-populated fillable form electronic document to an internetdestination (such as 135).

Thus, the above methods can be used for AB Testing, furniture staging,selection, and ranking of appliances as to good, better & best. Thesystem can be used for various layout and floor plans, showing andevaluation of various models of houses and apartments. Various fixturesand colors, and at various price points, can be quickly shown andevaluated.

Further Discussion

Additional Metrics and Algorithms:

Prospect Qualification Score: Can include factors such as credit(ability to pay), and a scoring function or algorithm based on thepotential client's use level such as the time spent touring a givenproperty, geo-tagged property information requests/hits, interactionsvia video chat, number of visits to the Property, number of questionsasked & answered, and (where permitted (tracking of the potentialclient, such as by face (or portions of the face such as the ear),tracking, client computerized device tracking, and the like.

As previously discussed, the system may use the sensor data to determinea path or route that a single user, or a small group of users, may takeon a tour, as is shown in FIGS. 19A, 19B, and 19C.

FIGS. 19A, B, and C show the route that a single prospect user has takenthrough various properties. FIG. 19A, shows the route that a singleprospect user took on a first floor of a residential property, FIG. 19Bshows the route that a single prospect user took on a second floor of aresidential property, and FIG. 19C shows route that a single prospectuser took on a floor of a commercial property (here an office building).

The system can be configured to capture this data on the individual userlevel, and also can be configured to combine the data of multipleprospect users over multiple tours to show the aggregate routes taken,as will be discussed below.

The system may also combine the values produced by many users (visitors,prospect-users, etc.) to visually show statistical data that summarizesthe various paths and rooms or areas visited over many different tours.This statistical data may be shown in various alternative formats.

In one alternative format, the system can also generate heat maps, orother graphical representations of data, where data values can berepresented visually that can include time(s) spent by users on a perroom basis, user, traffic flows, specific property addresses, models, orapartments toured for many visitors to a given property. Examples ofsuch “heat map” type graphical representation of data, for bothresidential and commercial property, are shown in FIGS. 20 , B, and C.

FIG. 20A shows a heat map showing areas most traveled by a plurality ofvisitors (such as prospect users) to a first floor of a residential realestate property.

FIG. 20B shows a heat map showing areas most traveled by a plurality ofvisitors (such as prospect users) to a second floor of a residentialreal estate property.

FIG. 20C shows heat map showing areas most traveled by a plurality ofvisitors (such as prospect users) to a second floor of a commercial realestate property, here a floor of an office building.

The system can also report tours on a per user and/or per time-periodbasis. Other algorithms may report on the return on investment (ROI) byproperty address, model number, or apartment/configuration, appliances,and by offers.

In conclusion, the invention offers the following features and benefits

Improved Site Security

The invention offers security for both the prospect and the real estateowner and/or real estate broker that is abysmally absent in theperson-to-person real estate tours. Specifically, for prospects to usethe invention they have to offer their verified contact information.This can easily be done through the capture by scanning of an officialgovernment ID such as a driver's license.

Furthermore, the owner or real estate broker may optionally insist uponthe prospect's photo which is easily captured by the end-user facing,prospect application. This photo can then readily be compared to whopresents themselves to the secured entrance of the property. Thissecured entrance avails itself of commonly available technology such asCCTV and doorbell cameras. These can easily be monitored to make surethat the prospect is actually the same person that tours the property.With this technology, the would-be thief or vandal can easily be trackeddown by the authorities.

Improved Physical Security

In recent years there have been attacks, sexual assaults and evenmurders of real estate brokers. The invention easily prevents thatbecause the owner and/or real estate broker actually performs theirfunctions remotely. Instead of physically being there, they use videochat abilities to narrate the tour for the prospect. They can explainthe features and benefits of the property and answer any of theprospect's questions from their own, owner/broker facing application.

Also, and importantly, during the tour the prospect touring the facilitycan enjoy enhanced security. Through the they may engage a panic buttonshould there be a health emergency or security issue. Once activated,the owner and/or broker the notified and can engage with the prospect,and/or the proper authorities can be notified.

Improved Time-Efficiency

Significantly, this invention greatly enhances the owner and/or theirreal estate broker's efficiency. Instead of wasting time traveling fromappointment they may easily be able to handle 5 to 10 times the numberof appointments they would normally do the old and unnecessary,in-person, way.

Easier Tour Scheduling

The invention allows the prospect to book their property tour throughits calendar/scheduling system. The owner and/or their real estatebrokers can easily accept or decline these requests and otherwise,coordinate appointments and in fact, handle multiples more appointmentsper day.

This is also extremely convenient for the prospect. They can make anappointment to see the property on their schedule. This may be before orafter normal business hours.

Faster and More Streamlined Real Estate Transactions

For both the owner and the real estate broker this invention can greatlyincrease the velocity of transactions because there are able to handlemany times more prospects touring their properties. Consequently, theycan have that many more prospects vying for their properties.

Furthermore, the invention allows prospect to make a bid for thepurchase or lease of the property during or after the tour. The owner orlessor of the property and/or their real estate broker mayinstantaneously accept that bid (offer) or offer up a counter bid. Thiscycle can be repeated as long as both sides are willing.

Upon mutual agreement to proceed with either the purchase or lease ofthe property, the contract for sale or lease can be submittedelectronically and instantaneously to the prospect. The prospect canthen accept this contract or lease or suggest their modifications. Onceagain, the owner or lessor can decide to accept these changes orcontinue to negotiate with the prospect on the contract or lease.

If the parties reached agreement on the contract or lease, this documentcan be digitally signed by both parties. Any fees, payments, or depositsmay then be electronically transmitted between the parties. Thus,employing the rapid submission of documents and facilitating anynegotiations electronically will also increase the velocity oftransactions.

Utilizes Present and Next-Generation Broadband Technology

The invention embraces powerful and existing technologies such as theubiquitous use of inexpensive, high-speed broadband Internet and fastcellular technology. Such technologies as WiFi 5, Wi-Fi 6, LTE and 5Gtechnology offer broadband speeds of up to 1 Gb and beyond. Both wiredand Wi-Fi enabled CCTV are now also ubiquitous and inexpensive. Theyneed but a fraction of that bandwidth to perform well. This enablingtechnology will only get faster in years to come, yet, without thisinvention, real estate tours were stuck in the days of the horse andbuggy.

Compatibility with Existing Digital Lock Technology

Digital door locks are also now ubiquitous. Any hardware store offers avariety of choices. The more advanced ones allow user to send a onetime, unique and secure digital access code to ⅓ party. Inventionembraces this technology Inc. and its application. Once the prospects IDhas been accepted, then their cell phones or tablet's IMEI number iscaptured for security. Thereafter, once they have secured an appointmentto tour the property, they are automatically issued this one-time accesscode for the prospect facing, and user application. Upon coming to theentrance of the property, the application allows them to use this codeto open the door lock.

Furthermore, these same locks can assure that the doors are re-lockedafter the tour is over. If there should be an issue of re-locking thedoors then the owner and/or their broker can be notified and a personcan then be sent to the property to investigate the issue and secure theproperty.

Improved Marketing Intelligence

In the words of the famous management consultant, Peter Drucker, “Youcan't manage what you can't measure.”

The invention tracks when the property was accessed via when this doorlock was opened for it logs the date and time, IMEI number and thereforethe prospect's identification.

As the prospect begins the tour, optional, the recommended CCTV camerascaptured their progress. This provides many significant benefits, notthe least of which is security for the property, but also security forthe prospect. Additionally, the owner and/or their broker can now haveaccess to scientific data on how much time the prospects spent touringand investigating different elements of the property. This data can behighly granular and can give the owner and/or their broker criticalintelligence on what features of a property are worth investing moneyinto and that pay the highest Return on Investment (ROI). A good exampleof this is a combination of kitchen amenities. Which appliances are mostvalued by prospective purchasers or tenants? What room layouts offer thebest ROI and the list of possible money-making metrics that can bederived from this is almost infinite.

Invention allows the owner and real estate broker to gather critical,real-time metrics, such as how many tours were conducted over a periodof time. How long did the prospect spend touring the particularproperty? This information can be further aggregated and analyzed to seethe amount time for the average prospect tour. What is the conversionratio of prospect for to selling or leasing a property? These importantmetrics simply unavailable the current system which frankly goes back tothe beginning of time.

Improved Geo-Tagged Information for Prospects

While touring the property prospect is presented geo-tag information.The technology for this geo-tagging is readily available today. Suchtechnologies as iBeacon, RFID, Tiles, Apple's Air Tags can inexpensivelyidentify a person's location within the property. The invention exploitsthese technologies fully and will present a plethora of information suchas floor plans, prerecorded videos, audio, spreadsheets, PDF files,pictures, etc. These are just some examples, any information can bedigitized, can be presented to the prospect through their mobile deviceusing the invention.

Additionally, when a prospect gets to a certain geo-tagged point, theowner and/or their real estate broker may choose to have a video oraudio chat with the prospect. Of course, the prospect can request thisat any point during the tour have their questions immediately answered.These answers can be given by a human owner and/or their real estatebroker in real time, OR they can be provided by the invention'sartificial intelligence module, having pre-reported responses to thetypical and repetitive questions. This artificial intelligence aspect ofthe invention further takes out the drudgery of showing a property forthe real estate broker and/or the owner of the property. For sure, asignificant amount of their time is taken up by answering the samequestions over and over again though from different prospects for theproperty. It is estimated by the inventor that this might save the ownerand/or real estate broker upwards of 90% of the time involved withpersonal, one-on-one tours. Thus, greatly enhances the time efficiencyfor the owner and/or real estate broker. This time efficiency coursetranslates to increase income and the reduction of frustrations.

Increased Understanding of Property Options Through Augmented RealityTechniques

The prospect can easily see fixtures and furniture superimposed overtheir current view of the property. This can be tied into vendors forsuch products. For example, companies such as Ikea, Amazon, Costco,Furnitureland South could present furniture. Appliances and fixturescould be presented by companies like Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon.

In fact, using the invention and owner and/or their broker can actuallyprovide virtual staging of furniture and fixtures. This with superimposethe image of new furniture and fixtures over the images of the existingproperty.

Work estimates can be provided by vendors who are tied into the vendorportion of the application. Even real estate related professions such asproperty inspectors, real estate attorneys, insurance brokers, mortgagebroker, banks, title companies, etc. can be present their offeringsthrough this invention. This provides a significant income stream to thevendors and makes it as easy as clicking on a button for the prospect toget a quote, engage a service provider and perhaps even purchase relatedgoods or services.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computerized method of monitoring andcontrolling access to real estate property, said method comprising:using a personal mobile computerized device to wirelessly connect to atleast one internet server; said personal mobile computerized devicecomprising a user-assigned validated personal mobile computerizeddevice; said user-assigned validated personal mobile computerized deviceconfigured to perform user identity validation by at least one biometricsensors; said user-assigned validated personal mobile computerizeddevice comprising at least one processor, memory, graphical userinterface, at least one wireless transceiver, device camera, and atleast one location determining device; said real estate propertycomprising at least one internet-connected real-world real estateproperty, said internet-connected real-world real estate propertycomprising at least one electronically locked door and at least oneproperty-located internet-connected sensor; wherein said at least oneproperty-located internet-connected sensor is different from saiduser-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device; scheduling,using said at least one internet server, a tour time-window for saiduser to tour said real-world real estate property; receiving, at said atleast one server, user presence information from any of saiduser-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device and said atleast one property-located internet-connected sensor that said user ispresent at said real-world real estate property during said tourtime-window; using any of said at least one internet server and saiduser-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device to unlocksaid electronically locked door during said tour time window, thusallowing said user to enter said real-world real estate property; usingsaid processor and said at least one location determining device todisplay at least some information pertaining to said real-world realestate property on said user interface according to a plurality oflocations of said personal mobile computerized device at said real-worldreal estate property during said at least one scheduled tour, saidinformation varying according to said plurality of locations; and usingany of said user-assigned validated personal mobile computerized deviceand said at least one property-located internet-connected sensor toinform said at least one internet server of at least some useractivities while said user is present on said real-world real estateproperty.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least oneproperty-located internet-connected sensor is configured to monitor atleast said electronically locked door, said user activities sent to saidat least one internet server comprise the time and identity of said userwhen said user used said door to enter said property.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said property comprises a plurality of rooms, and saidat least one property-located internet-connected sensors comprise aplurality of property-located internet-connected sensors disposed tomonitor user presence in said plurality of rooms, and said useractivities sent to said at least one internet server comprise said usertimes of entering and exiting said room; and said internet server usessaid user times of entering and exiting said rooms to determine the usertime in each room, total time in said tour, and the route that said usertakes traversing said rooms in said tour.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein at least some of said at least some information is geo-taggedinformation, said real-world real estate property comprises a pluralityof said geo-tagged information, said user-assigned validated personalmobile computerized device obtains the location of said user from saidat least one location determining device and transmits said userlocation to said server, and said server uses said user location todetermine when to provide a specific said geo-tagged information fromsaid plurality of said geo-tagged information to said user.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein at least some of said at least someinformation comprises tour information, and said user-assigned validatedpersonal mobile computerized device uses said tour information toprovide at said real-world real estate property, multiple locationself-guided tours to said user.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein atleast some of said at least some information pertaining to saidreal-world real estate property comprises augmented reality information,and said user-assigned validated personal mobile computerized deviceuses said device camera, and said augmented reality information, toprovide an augmented reality display on said graphical user interface.7. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically locked door isconfigured to open in response to a wirelessly transmitted unlockingcode, and any of: a) said user-assigned validated personal mobilecomputerized device obtains said unlocking code from said internetserver and wirelessly transmits said unlocking code to saidelectronically locked door; or b) said internet server uses informationobtained from said user-assigned validated personal mobile computerizeddevice to transmit an unlocking code to said electronically locked door;or c) said internet server transmits an optical or manually enterableunlocking code to said user-assigned validated personal mobilecomputerized device.
 8. The method of claim 1, further reducing risk ofspoofing by user-assigning and validating said personal mobilecomputerized device to a specific user, by: using said at least onebiometric sensor to associate said personal mobile computerized devicewith a specific user; using said personal mobile computerized device tocontact said internet server, acquiring both device identification datafrom said personal mobile computerized device and user identificationdata from said user; using said internet server to confirm accuracy ofsaid device identification data and said user identification data, andwhen accuracy is confirmed, user-assigning and validating said personalmobile computerized device.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said atleast some information pertaining to said real-world real estateproperty further comprises additional information pertaining to eithersaid real-world real estate property or said real-world real-estate'slocal environment.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least someinformation pertaining to said real-world real estate property furthercomprises at least one fillable form contractual electronic document;said internet server uses previously stored information on said user andsaid real-world real estate property to automatically pre-populate atleast some portions of said fillable form electronic document, creatingpre-populated fillable form contractual electronic documents;transmitting said pre-populated fillable form contractual electronicdocuments to said user-assigned validated personal mobile computerizeddevice; and said user-assigned validated personal mobile computerizeddevice is further configured to securely receive said pre-populatedfillable form contractual electronic document, receive input from saiduser, creating a user edited pre-populated fillable form contractualelectronic document, and transmit said user edited pre-populatedfillable form contractual electronic document to an internetdestination.
 11. The method of claim 1, further graphically presenting adashboard of real-time information on a plurality of scheduled tours ofa plurality of internet-connected real-world real estate property on atleast one computer screen.
 12. The method of claim 1, further storing atleast some of said user activities while said user is present on saidreal-world real estate property are stored in a user activity database;further using at least one processor to query said user activitydatabase and produce any of graphical and analytic reports based on saiduser activities.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein said user-assignedvalidated personal mobile computerized device is further configured toreceive user security alerts pertaining to property problems or securityconcerns, and report at least said user security alerts to said at leastone internet server.
 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:using at least one real-world real estate property configured with atleast one property-located internet-connected sensor to monitoractivities of a plurality of real-world visitors to said real estateproperty, and report said activities of said plurality of visitors to atleast one internet server; at least some of said visitors carryinguser-assigned personal mobile computerized devices that wirelesslytransmit unique identification codes that can be traced to specificvisitors and specific visitor characteristics; said real estate propertyhaving designated locations of interest; each said visitor having atleast an orientation corresponding to said visitor's field of view; saidat least one property-located internet-connected sensor configured tocover at least one said designated location of interest; using at leastone processor to determine, as a function of time, distances betweensaid visitors and said designated locations of interest, and orientationof said visitors with respect to at least some said designated locationsof interest; receiving said wirelessly transmitted unique identificationcodes, and determining said specific visitor characteristics for atleast some said visitors; accumulating, over a plurality of saidvisitors, statistics on locations and orientations and characteristicsof said visitors with respect to at least some said locations ofinterest; and determining, for at least some said visitorcharacteristics, if at least some locations of interest correlate withstatistically higher or lower distances and/or orientations between atleast some said visitor characteristics and at least some saiddesignated locations of interest.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereinsaid server uses previous determinations of statistically higher orlower distances and/or orientations between at least some said visitorcharacteristics and at least some said designated locations of interestto automatically transmit questions to visitors carrying user-assignedpersonal mobile computerized devices either during or after said visitorconducts a tour of said real estate property; and using said server toreceive answers to said questions, and further correlate at least saiddeterminations of statistically higher or lower distances and/ororientations between at least some said visitor characteristics and atleast some said designated locations of interest with said answers. 16.The method of claim 1, further comprising: using a personal mobilecomputerized device comprising at least one processor, memory, agraphical user interface, at least one wireless transceiver, and atleast one location determining device and at least one camera to image aportion of a real estate property, thus creating a property image; usingsaid mobile computerized device to receive, for a plurality of virtualobjects, virtual object appearance information and virtual objectassociated information from at least one internet server; wherein saidinternet server is configured with a database providing a standardizedAPI for group of virtual objects, virtual object appearance information,and virtual object associated information, and said internet serverprovides a gateway permitting plurality of vendors of said virtualobjects to enter each vendor's vendor associated virtual objects,virtual object appearance information, and virtual object associatedinformation; displaying for at least some of said plurality of virtualobjects, any of virtual object appearance information and virtual objectassociated information on said graphical user interface; receiving,using said personal mobile computerized device, a first user selectioncomprising at least one user selected virtual object for at least one ofsaid plurality of virtual objects, and for said first user selection,using said processor to combine said property image and at least oneuser selected virtual object appearance information to produce anaugmented reality property image on said graphical user interface;receiving, using said personal mobile computerized device, a second userselection comprising at least one modification of said first userselection; and using said internet server to transmit said first userselection and said second user selection to at least one vendorassociated with those virtual objects in said first user selection. 17.The method of claim 16, further virtually staging a real estate propertyby storing a preselected staging set of virtual object appearanceinformation in said at least one internet server; and using said serverto transmit said preselected staging set of virtual object appearanceinformation to a real-world visitor's personal mobile computerizeddevice, thus allowing said real-world visitor to view an augmentedreality view of said preselected staging set of virtual objects during areal-world tour of said real estate property.
 18. The method of claim16, wherein said internet server uses previously stored information onsaid user and said real estate property to automatically pre-populate atleast some portions of a fillable form electronic document, creatingpre-populated fillable form contractual electronic documents;transmitting said pre-populated fillable form contractual electronicdocuments to said personal mobile computerized device; and said personalmobile computerized device is further configured to securely receivesaid pre-populated fillable form contractual electronic document,receive input from said user, creating a user edited pre-populatedfillable form contractual electronic document, and transmit said useredited pre-populated fillable form contractual electronic document to aninternet destination.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein said at leastone property-located internet-connected sensor further comprises any ofa property-based user location sensor comprising any of a video camera;infrared sensor, audio sensor, pressure sensor, or magnetic sensor thatis configured to send information over the internet to said at least oneinternet server.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least oneproperty-located internet-connected sensor comprises at least one videocamera; further using images from said at least one video camera, andany of automated vision software and AI image recognition software, toautomatically determine a presence of unexpected or unauthorizedindividuals.
 21. A computerized method of monitoring and controllingaccess to real estate property, said method comprising: using a personalmobile computerized device to wirelessly connect to at least oneinternet server; said personal mobile computerized device comprising auser-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device; saiduser-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device configuredto perform user identity validation by any of unique identificationcodes and biometric sensors; said user-assigned validated personalmobile computerized device comprising at least one processor, memory,graphical user interface, at least one wireless transceiver, devicecamera, and at least one location determining device; said real estateproperty comprising at least one internet-connected real-world realestate property, said internet-connected real-world real estate propertycomprising at least one electronically locked door and at least oneproperty-located internet-connected sensor; wherein said at least oneproperty-located internet-connected sensor is different from saiduser-assigned validated personal mobile computerized device, and whereinsaid at least one property-located internet-connected sensor comprisesat least one video camera; scheduling, using said at least one internetserver, a tour time-window for said user to tour said real-world realestate property; receiving, at said at least one server, user presenceinformation from any of said user-assigned validated personal mobilecomputerized device and said at least one property-locatedinternet-connected sensor that said user is present at said real-worldreal estate property during said tour time-window; using any of said atleast one internet server and said user-assigned validated personalmobile computerized device to unlock said electronically locked doorduring said tour time window, thus allowing said user to enter saidreal-world real estate property; using said processor and said at leastone location determining device to display at least some informationpertaining to said real-world real estate property on said userinterface according to a plurality of locations of said personal mobilecomputerized device at said real-world real estate property during saidat least one scheduled tour, said information varying according to saidplurality of locations; and using any of said user-assigned validatedpersonal mobile computerized device and said at least oneproperty-located internet-connected sensor to inform said at least oneinternet server of at least some user activities while said user ispresent on said real-world real estate property; and using images fromsaid at least one video camera, and any of automated vision software andAI image recognition software, to automatically determine a presence ofunexpected or unauthorized individuals.